Pushing to uproot terror groups, Israel's foreign minister is reviewing with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top Bush administration officials a Palestinian proposal to use Arab money to buy out militant security officers.
The idea of paying off tens of thousands of security officers, some suspected of aiding militants in attacks on Israel, was raised last week by Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad at an international conference in London.
Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, whose government did not attend the London conference, is meeting Tuesday with Rice, who attended the conference, and separately with national security adviser Stephen Hadley.
Fayyad said in London last week that donor nations had promised US$1.2 billion to the Palestinian Authority, thereby providing breathing space for the government of Mahmoud Abbas to make changes designed to prod Israel toward more territorial concessions and clearing the way for a Palestinian state.
Israel is getting ready to abandon Gaza, even to the extent of moving Jewish graves out of the territory it has held for 38 years, and almost is ready to begin surrendering a cluster of settlements in the northern West Bank.
Both the Bush administration and the Israeli government are pleased with Abbas' commitment to counter terror, but both would like to see more action behind the promises.
Fayyad said last week the Palestinian Authority's monthly US$40 million deficit raises questions about its ability to pay tens of thousands of security officers who will be critical to maintaining order as Israel pulls back.
Terrorism has declined sharply since Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed on a cease-fire last month. There have been scattered outbreaks, however, and Israeli authorities credit a controversial security barrier for derailing several infiltrations.
handover helpers
Meanwhile, Palestinian police trained for taking over Tulkarem, the first of five West Bank towns set to revert to Palestinian security control under terms of a truce to end more than four years of Palestinian-Israeli bloodshed.
The last step before the handover was set for yesterday evening -- the first meeting between Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, where final details were to be completed.
An exhibition Monday in Tulkarem was flashier than the day-to-day duty facing the police. Dozens of young troops in military fatigues marched in formation and conducted a series of calisthenic drills and martial-arts exercises at an abandoned dirt lot.
At one point, the soldiers formed a human pyramid and cried out "Jerusalem is ours!" Later, the soldiers sprinted and jumped headfirst through a smoldering hoop lined with a flaming cloth.
Elsewhere in town, camouflage troops congregated on a street corner, while blue-uniformed police patrolled the streets and directed traffic.
Tulkarem governor Izzedine al-Sharif said 2,500 Palestinian police are to be posted in the town and the main goals would be "to maintain security and law, to prevent any attacks against Israeli targets." He said the police are ready for their mission. "We are preparing many measures," he said, "like setting up permanent and mobile checkpoints."
Giora Eiland, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's national security adviser, told reporters that Israel is concerned that Palestinian militant groups have taken advantage of the recent lull in fighting to regroup.
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